Support mechanism for supporting various devices to be employed in cooperation with a hospital bed



March 3, 1970 3,497,882

J. F. WEEKS SUPPORT MECH ISM FOR SUPPORTING VARIOUS DEVICES TO BE EMPLOYIN COOPERATION WITH A HOSPITAL Filed Aug 25, 1967 2 BED Sheets-Sheet 1March 3, 1970 J. F. WEEKS 3,497,832

SUIPORT MECHANISM FOR SUPPORTING VARIOUS DEVICES TO BE EMPLOYED INCOOPERATION WITH A HOSPITAL BED Filed Aug 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2JAMES F. UJEEKS M ZLMPHQ 'I ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,497,882SUPPORT MECHANISM FOR SUPPORTING VARIOUS DEVICES TO BE EMPLOYED INCOOPERATION WITH A HOSPITAL BED James F. Weeks, P.O. Box 5354, Macon,Ga. 31208 Filed Aug. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 662,792 Int. Cl. A47b 23/00 US.Cl. -332 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relatesgenerally to adjustable support apparatus for use in association with abed to support varying devices conveniently with respect to a personoccupying such bed, and more particularly to the combination of anelongate mounting bar to be supported above a bed and support apparatusslidable along the mounting bar for supporting any of a number ofvarious devices including reading tables, handgrips and the like.

In the past, various adjustable supports have been provided inassociation with hospital beds for supporting various pieces ofequipment in relation to such beds and the patients occupying such beds.It is, however, desirable that the provisions for supporting variousdevices in correct relation to a patient occupying a hospital bed beeasily adjusted and locked into a desired position with a minimum ofeffort on the part of the patient or other person effecting the correctpositioning of the supported device. In providing a reading table foruse by a patient it is desirable that such table be adjustable tomaximize the comfort of the patient and that such reading table bepositively maintained in such correct disposition.

Similarly, when a handgrip is to be supported for use by the patient inaltering his position upon the hospital bed or in providing physicalexercise for the patient, it is important that the means by which suchhandgrip is supported is free from the possibility of slipping out ofits preselected position.

In accordance with the foregoing it is an object of this invention toprovide support apparatus for use in association with a bed,particularly a hospital bed, wherein the positioning of such apparatusis adjustable and relatively free from the possibility of accidentalmovement from its adjusted position.

Another object of this invention is to provide adjustable supportapparatus of the aforementioned type wherein an elongate mounting memberis employed in combination with a sleeve slidably supported on themounting member and an arm pivotally attached to the sleeve forconnection with a device to be supported and for locking the sleeve at apredetermined position along the length of the elongate member.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable supportof the type set forth immediately hereinbefore and including cooperatinglocking provisions on the pivotally mounted arm and the elongate member.

A still further object of this invention is to provide adjustablesupport apparatus including an elongate support member, a sleeveslidably mounted on the support member, an arm pivotally attached to thesleeve and ineluding locking provisions for locking the sleeve and armwith respect to the elongate member and an adjustable table connected tothe arm for adjustable movement therewith.

Yet another object of this invention is to'provide an adjustable supportdevice including an elongate mounting member, a slidable sleeve, an armpivotally connected to the sleeve and a handgrip supported by thepivotal arm for adjustable movement therewith.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by referenceto the following detailed description, the appended claims, and theseveral views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away for clarity, andshows a sleeve for attachment to an elongate mounting member, an armpivotally connected to the sleeve, locking provisions on the arm and anadjustable reading table supported by the arm.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view with parts broken away for clarity, andshows a sleeve and pivotally connected arm similar to the sleeve and armof FIGURE 1, and a handgrip supported upon the arm.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the support apparatus and readingtable of FIGURE 1 and shows such apparatus and table in association withan elongate mounting member and a hospital bed.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the adjustablesupport apparatus with parts broken away for clarity, and showsalternate positions of the reading table supported upon the pivotallymounted arm and the slidable sleeve in association with the elongatemounting member.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line5-5 of FIGURE 3 and shows the association of the locking provisions onthe pivotally supported arm with the elongate'mounting member.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the apparatusshown in FIGURE 5, and shows the pivotally mounted arm, the lockingprovisions thereon and the elongate mounting member and theirinterrelationships in the unlocked position thereof.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view with parts bro-kenaway for clarity, and shows the interrelationship of the lockingprovisions on the pivotally mounted arm with an aperture provided in thesleeve.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of an alternateembodiment of the aforementioned sleeve and pivotally mounted arm, andshows the provision of a tubular sleeve of circular cross-section.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view taken along the line 9--9of FIGURE 4, and shows adjustable pivotal mounting provisions for thepivotal connection of the reading table to the pivotal arm.

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged, exploded fragmentary perspective view, andshows the interrelationship of the relatively pivotable parts of FIGURE9 and corrugated surfaces provided upon relatively rotatable parts formaintaining the reading table at a predetermined angular disposition.

Referring to the drawings in detail, indicated generally at 20 is a bedwhich may be any of a number of suitable beds and, as shown, whichpreferably is a hospital bed of the type including a mattress 21 theposition of which is adjustable to effect an adjustment of the positionof a patient disposed thereon.

A Balkan frame or frame structure, generally indicated by the numeral22, is atlixed to the bed 20 as by the provision of a number of tubularreceiving members 23 which may be provided on the bed 20 as by any of anumber of suitable mounting means 24. The frame 22 has upwardlyextending support beams slidably received in the receiving members 23and the uppermost ends of the upstanding support beams 25 areinterconnected by generally horizontally disposed upper beams 26, 27, 28and 30. An elongated tubular mounting member 31 bridges the upper beams26 and 28 to extend generally horizontally above the mattress 21 andalong the entire length of the bed 20.

A sleeve 32 encircles the elongate mounting member 31 and is slidabletherealong to any of a number of positions along the length thereof. Anarm 33, best seen in FIGURE 1, is pivotally connected to the movablesleeve 32 for movement therewith along the length of the elongatemounting member 31. The arm 33 is provided with a depending extensionportion 34 to which may be con-' nected a device to be supported in apredetermined relationship to a patient occupying the bed 20. The arm 33is provided with a transverse bend 35 about which the arm 33 may bepivoted with respect to the sleeve 32.

As best seen in FIGURES 5 and 6, a fastening pin 36 is supported by thesleeve 32 and extends outwardly therefrom to pass loosely through anaperture 37 provided in the arm 33. An enlarged head portion 38 isprovided upon the lowermost portion of the pin 36 to maintain the arm 33in association with the movable sleeve 32.

A pair of projections 40 and 41 are provided on the arm 33 on theopposite side of the transverse bend 35 from the fastening pin 36 andaperture 37. An elongate slot or aperture 42, best seen in FIGURE 7, isprovided in the sleeve 32 to facilitate the passage of the projections40 and 41 therethrough. A plurality of registration apertures 43 aredisposed along the length of the mounting member 31 to receive theuppermost portions of the I arm mounted projections 40 and 41 inregistry therewith when the arm 33 is pivoted into its locking positionas indicated by the unnumbered arrow in FIGURE 5. Normally, the weightof the arm extension 34 and/or any device supported thereon will besufficient to maintain the projections 40 and 41 received in theapertures 43 to maintain the sleeve 32 and the arm 33 locked at aparticular position along the length of the mounting member 31.

The application of a force generally upwardly upon the arm extension 34rocks or pivots the arm 33 into the unlocked position as indicated bythe unnumbered arrows in FIGURE 6 to allow the sleeve 32 and arm 33 tobe moved along the mounting member 31 as desired.

In a further embodiment of the movable sleeve and pivotable armcombination as shown in FIGURE 8, a sleeve 45 of generally circularcross-section is provided for cooperation with a circularlycross-sectioned elongate mounting member similar to the rectangularlycross-sectioned mounting member 31. As shown, the arm 33 and theprojections 40 and 41 may be fashioned as described hereinbefore or thearm 33 may be generally arcuate in cross-section to partially encirclethe sleeve 45.

A reading table, generally indicated by the numeral in FIGURES l and 4,is mounted upon the generally downwardly projecting extension 34 by theprovision of suitable connection means such as, for example, a slot 51defined in the extension 34 for accommodating bolts 52 or the like. Theemployment of the slot 51 in the arm extension 34 allows verticaladjustment of the reading table 50 to any desired position by the meresliding of a table support beam 53 along a surface of the arm extension34 and the tightening of the bolts 52 at a desirable position.

The reading table device 50 includes a reading board 54 which pivotallymounts the table support beam 53 as will be described more fullyhereinafter. A support ledge 55 is provided at the lowermost end of thereading board 54 to support reading matter in its proper position uponthe board. Similarly, clamping means are provided in association withthe board 54 to maintain the reading material thereon and, as shown, theclamping means provided include a pair of S-shaped clamps 56 eachfixedly attached to the back surface of the reading board 54.

The reading table support beam 53 is pivotally mounted upon the readingboard 54 by the pivotal connecting provisions generally indicated by thenumberal 60 in FIG- URES 9 and 10. A pair of brackets 62, 62 are fixedlyattached to the reading board 54 and support therebetween a generallyhorizontally disposed shaft 63 upon which may conveniently be providedan enlarged head portion 64 and a threaded end portion 65 at theopposite end of the shaft from the head portion 64. The shaft 63 isjournalled in a journal portion 66 provided upon the generally upwardlyextending table support beam 53. A pair of corrugated faces 67 aredisposed at the two axially spaced ends of the journal portion 66 forcooperation with a similar pair of corrugated faces 68 provided upon thebrackets 62. A knurled nut 70 may be provided upon the threaded end 65of the shaft 63 such that the tightening of the nut 70 draws thecorrugated faces 68 of the brackets 62 toward each other and into firmengagement with the corrugated faces 67 of the journal portion 66 tomaintain the reading board 54 in a desired angular disposition.

Loosening of the nut 70 allows the brackets 62 to move resiliently awayfrom each other during angular adjustment of the board 54. The depth ofthe corrugations upon the faces 67 and 68 may, however, be madesufiicient to maintain the board 54 in its desired angular dispositionwithout the use of the nut 70 provided corrugated faces 67 and 68 arenormally in firm intenengagement.

In a further embodiment, best seen in FIGURE 2, the slidable sleeve 32has pivotally connected thereto an arm 71 similar to the arm 33described hereinbefore in that the arm 71 includes a transverse bend 72and a projection 73 to be received in apertures spaced along the lengthof the elongate mounting member 31 as well as an aperture (not shown)for receiving the fastening pins 36. The arm 71 further includes anextension 73 having connecting means provided thereon in the form of anextension terminating eye 74. A handgrip, generally indicated by thenumeral 75 is connected to the eye 74 of the arm 73 as by the extensiontherebetween of a chain 76 having end links 77 and 78 connected to theeye 74 and the handgrip 75, respectively.

The handgrip 75 includes a hand bar 78 which is supported generallyhorizontally by a grip support member 80. The bar 78 may be ofsuflicient width to facilitate thehandling thereof by the patient with asingle hand in aiding the patient to alter his position upon themattress 21 or the grip 78 may be of suflicient width to facilitate theutilization of two hands in various physical exercises.

Again, it will be noted that the employment of the sleeve 32 andpivotable arm 73 in cooperation with the handgrip 75 allows the lockingand unlocking of the sleeve 32 and arm 73 with respect to the elongatemounting member 31 through the pivotal movement of the arm 73 and, againit will be noted that the weight of the arm extension 73 and thehandgrip 75 will be sufiicient to move the locking projection 73 into asuitable projection receiving registration aperture 43 in the elongatemounting member 31 to prevent the movement of the sleeve and arm withrespect to the elongate mounting member during the utilization of thehandgrip 75.

It is to be understood that any number of elongate mounting members 31may be mounted in parallel spaced relation between the frame members 26and 28 such that a number of devices might be supported for employmentin cooperation with the bed 20.

The structures shown and described above represent preferred forms ofthe invention, however, it will be readily apparent that many variationsmay be made in the structure set forth without departure from the scopeand spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Adjustable support apparatus for use in supporting an associateddevice movably withtrespect to a bed and comprising an elongate mountingmember, a sleeve slidably supported on said mounting member and an armpivotally attached to said sleeve, said arm including connection meansfor connecting said support apparatus to the associated device, saidmounting member having registration means disposed along the lengththereof and said arm having locking means movable into and out ofregistry with said registration means upon pivoting of said arm forlocking said sleeve and arm at any of a number of positions along thelength of said mounting member.

2. Supporting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said locking meanscomprises at least one inwardly directed projection on said arm and saidregistration means comprises means for receiving said projection.

3. Support apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve is tubularand of generally rectangular cross-section and said mounting member istubular, of generally rectangular cross-section and extends axiallythrough said sleeve, said registration means being a plurality ofapertures in said mounting member and said locking means comprising atleast one projection pivotable into a selected one of said aperturesupon pivoting of said arm.

4. Support apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve is tubularand of generally circular cross-seetion and said mounting member istubular, of generally circular cross-section and extends axially throughsaid sleeve, said registration means being a plurality of apertures insaid mounting member and said locking means comprising at least oneprojection pivotable into a selected one of said apertures upon pivotingof said arm.

5. Support apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means forconnecting includes an extension portion on said arm, extending awayfrom said sleeve and a table connected to said extension portion formovement with said sleeve and arm.

6. Support apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a handgripand means interconnecting said handgrip to said connection means on saidarm.

7. Support apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said elongate mountingmember extends longitudinally of said bed.

8. Support apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said arm furthercomprises a transverse bend about which said arm is pivotable and anaperture therein, said aperture and said projection being disposed onopposite sides of said transverse bend and said sleeve having affixedthereto an outwardly extending fastening pin, said fastening pin beingloosely received in said aperture and having a head thereon forpreventing the removal of said arm.

9. Support apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said sleeve has anaperture therethrough in alignment with said projection for allowing thepassage of said projection therethrough into registry with said meansfor receiving said projection.

10. Support apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising a tablemounting beam pivotally connected to said table and slidably attached tosaid extension portion of said arm.

11. Support apparatus according to claim 5 including pivotal connectingmeans pivotally connecting said arm extension portion and said table.

12. Support apparatus according to claim 10 wherein a pair of mountingbrackets are provided on said table in mounting relation to a shaft,said table mounting beam terminating in a journal portion disposedbetween said brackets and encircling said shaft in pivotal supportingrelation to said table.

13. Support apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said table hasclamping means affixed thereto, said journal portion having corrugatedend faces thereon and said brackets having corrugations thereon incontact with said corrugated end faces for maintaining said table in anyof a number of angular positions.

14. Support apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said meansinterconnecting comprises a chain having one end thereof connected tosaid connection means and the other end thereof connected to a handgripsupport member of said handgrip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,755,093 4/1930 Appel 248-287 XR2,428,649 10/1947 Brown 5317 XR 3,077,613 2/1963 Mayer.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner ANDREW M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 248-298

